Corn Meal as Fertilizer

Lady20456 – posted 06 August 2003 12:31

I have read two threads in this forum that corn meal serves as a good fertilizer. My question is can corn meal be used as a stand alone fertilizer or should one be using corn meal in conjuction with a shelf product? What signs does your lawn give when a fertilizer is needed?Thanks

Dchall_San_Antonio – posted 06 August 2003 22:56

Corn meal stands alone. It is a source of nitrogen and trace minerals. Fortunately, grass is a nitrogen hog and seems to use the other 12 required minerals in trace amounts compared to the amount of nitrogen it uses.

Corn meal acts intermediately slow. There are other organic fertilizers that act 10 times slower (e.g. hair) and some that act 10 times faster (e.g. blood). You’ll see the results from corn meal in 3 weeks. You can see the burning results of too much blood overnight. You’ll never really see the results of hair, but the microbes will be happier for a long time. The biological process that corn meal has to go through to produce plant food prevents it from burning or being harsh in any way.

If you drive around the neighborhood and look at lawns, you’ll notice the ones that need fertilizer. They’ll be a little yellower than the recently fertilized ones.

If you’ll look around the message board, you’ll find a FAQ I wrote about managing your turf organically. I talk a lot about how corn meal works and how to use it. I believe it is in the Grass Types forum.

Lady20456 – posted 07 August 2003 06:05

Thank you!!!!!

Lady20456 – posted 07 August 2003 07:19

Dchall_San_Antonio

The nearest feed store around me sells “Corn Glutten Meal”. Would this be the same corn meal that you reference in your threads?Thanks

Dchall_San_Antonio – posted 07 August 2003 23:07

They are two different products.

Corn gluten meal is the left over material after the wet milling process and some extraction of something from the corn. It is a fine ground, dark yellow material with very high protein content. It is used as a preemergent weed seed controller for people who can afford it. In some places (Ohio and Kentucky) you can get CGM for about $8/100#. This price is unheard of anywhere else. At that cost, I would use it for everything. It works wonders as a fertilizer. Usually CGM costs about $40/40# or a dollar per pound.

Corn meal is plain old kernels of corn ground up to varying degrees. Usually corn meal costs about $5-6/50# or about $0.10 per pound.

Both products are used at the same rate as a fertilizer. That rate is 10-20 pounds per 1,000 square feet. CGM is used at 40 pounds per 1,000 square feet as a preemergent. Corn meal is used at 20 pounds per 1,000 square feet as an antifungal agent.

Lady20456 – posted 08 August 2003 05:19

Dchall_San_AntonioIf you should ever published a book, I would be the first one to find you to buy an autograph copy…

I have cancelled my “True-Green” services and I’m off to the feed store to buy some Corn Gluten Meal… The feed store not too far from my job sells 50 pound bags for $16.95 per bag. Not as bad as me paying “True-green” $80.00 bucks per month. Anyway, thanks for all the advise. I have learned alot and look forward to learning more as I stay tuned to this “GREAT” forum.